Fire crews made progress Saturday fighting a huge central Texas wildfire but concerns over still smoldering hot spots kept thousands of residents from returning home.

Tensions flared during a news conference as some residents shouted questions at county officials, demanding to know when they could return to their homes in the Bastrop area, about 30 miles east of Austin.

Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald said officials hope to get residents back as soon as possible, but he didn't know how long that would take. "This is day seven, tensions are high," McDonald said.

Texas is in the midst of its worst wildfire outbreak in state history. A perilous mix of hot temperatures, strong winds and a historic drought spawned the Bastrop-area fire, the largest of the nearly 190 wildfires the state forest service says erupted last week, killing four people, destroying more than 1,700 homes and forcing thousands to evacuate.

Around the city of Bastrop, the fire has destroyed nearly 1,400 homes and swept across about 45 square miles of rain-starved landscape.

Gov. Rick Perry's office said families whose homes have been destroyed will receive seven-day hotel vouchers from a nonprofit organization as well as assistance from the state.

On Friday, White House officials announced that President Obama had signed a declaration declaring a major disaster exists in Texas.

The move allows federal funding to be made available to individuals in Bastrop County. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs.

Officials said the fire was about 50 percent contained Saturday.